Pharmacy Management System: What Is It, Benefits, and Features

All pharmacies benefit from tools that improve efficiency. A pharmacy management system (PMS) is the best helping hand to support your operations as they grow. With useful features like inventory management, health records, and automated reimbursements, you can improve your team’s efficiency, increase revenue, and enhance patient care with pharmacy software systems.

In this guide, you can find everything you need to know about pharmacy management software. Let’s get started.

What Is a Pharmacy Management System?

A pharmacy management system is a specialized software designed to automate and streamline the workflows within a pharmacy. It can offer a wide range of functionalities, from reviewing prescriptions and preparing medications to managing inventory, handling billing and insurance, providing counseling, and ensuring compliance with legal regulations.

It is a pillar in the functioning of an efficient and successful pharmacy. You can use it to improve your operations and increase your revenue through cost-saving features and better patient care.

Benefits of Using a Pharmacy Management System

Below are some of the main benefits you can expect to receive from implementing a pharmacy order management system.

Improved Efficiency

Think about all the processes in your pharmacy, from patient record keeping to claims reconciliation. All of these involve tedious manual tasks that could be automated or enhanced. An online pharmacy management system will be involved every step of the way to streamline it. With the right platform, you can keep patients’ histories in a centralized platform for easy access, generate smart reports, automate inventory management for pharmacy, automate billing, track claims, avoid costly errors, and much more.

Increased Revenue

Naturally, if you’re more efficient at work, you make more money. Proof of this is our recent case study, where a pharmacy earned $19,000 of additional revenue on the first month of using DocStation’s automated billing features. There are many more cases like this where pharmacies using a pharmacy management system have gained thousands of dollars of new revenue every month completely due to operational efficiency.

Enhanced Patient Care

Your pharmacy can be much more than a place where people go get their medicine. You can provide additional services that can enhance your patients’ well-being with the help of a pharmacy management system. A PMS provides the tools you need to deliver the healthcare your patients expect. For example, you can provide medication therapy management (MTM), medication synchronization, support groups, educational sessions, vaccinations and more.

The Best Pharmacy Management Systems (PMS) Out There

1. McKesson: An enterprise pharmacy system known for its robust inventory management and efficient supply chain. It is particularly beneficial for managing large stock volumes and ensuring smooth operations in the supply chain​​. Their menu of cloud-delivered or server-based technology solutions includes pharmacy management systems, automated central fill solutions, pharmacy business services and point-of-sale systems.
2. PioneerRX: PioneerRx is a pharmacy management system known for enhancing patient care through features like medication synchronization and personalized patient profiles. Pioneer pharmacy software integrates with various third-party applications, offering versatility for different pharmacy operations. However, its pricing, starting from $200/user/month, may be high for smaller businesses, and the system’s extensive features could require additional training.
3. Liberty: Liberty’s PMS offers an innovative and comprehensive solution for modern pharmacies. It streamlines prescription management with seamless electronic processing, advanced inventory control, and efficient patient profile management. Additionally, the system integrates robust reporting tools and compliance management features, ensuring both operational efficiency and regulatory adherence for pharmacy operations.
4. Cerner: This system is ideal for integrated care coordination. It offers cloud and on-premise deployment options, and features like room and equipment scheduling customization, alert messages for critical patient-related requirements, and integration with financial and administrative data. Its features also include a master patient index, online bill payment, messaging, and a comprehensive medication database, making it a versatile tool for large-scale healthcare setups​​​​.

Features of a Pharmacy Management System

Not all platforms have the same features, but some of the most important ones are explained below. Consider which ones are most important for you and choose a platform based on that.

1. Pharmacy inventory management: It should efficiently handle prescription processing, including electronic prescriptions, dosage information, and refill management.
2. Inventory Management: Effective management of drug inventory, including stock levels, expiration tracking, and automatic reordering.
3. Point of Sale (POS) System: A robust POS system for processing sales, managing transactions, and handling customer payments.
4. Patient Profile and History: Capability to maintain comprehensive patient profiles, including medication history, allergies, and doctor information.
5. Drug Interaction and Safety Alerts: A system to check for potential drug interactions, allergies, and other contraindications.
6. Compounding Software: For pharmacies that do compounding, software to manage custom medication formulations.
7. Reporting and Analytics: Tools for generating various reports for inventory, sales, and regulatory compliance.
8. Insurance and Billing Management: Features to handle insurance claims processing, billing, and reconciliation.
9. Compliance Management: Assistance with regulatory compliance, including tracking controlled substances and adherence to pharmacy laws.
10. Integration Capabilities: Ability to integrate with other systems like electronic health records (EHR), hospital information systems (HIS), and wholesaler systems.
11. User-Friendly Interface: An intuitive and easy-to-use interface to minimize training time and errors.
12. Data Security and Backup: Strong data security measures to protect patient information and secure backup systems.
13. Remote Access and Mobile Support: Flexibility to access the system remotely or via mobile devices, beneficial for managing multiple locations or for pharmacists on the move.
14. Customer Support and Training: Reliable customer support and training resources for troubleshooting and maximizing the use of the software.

Do You Need A Pharmacy Management System?

If you are a pharmacy operations manager and want to centralize all your pharmacy’s data, from patient records to billing, while gaining automation capabilities, then yes. However, only you can know if it’s the right time to start using an online pharmacy management system.

To help you with your decision, consider the following questions:

• Are your current pharmacy workflows causing bottlenecks or inefficiencies?
• Do you need to streamline prescription processing and inventory in pharmacy?
• Are you looking to enhance accuracy in dispensing and record-keeping?
• Are there opportunities to improve patient engagement and adherence in your practice?
• Is medication synchronization or adherence monitoring a priority for your patients?
• How is patient data currently managed in your pharmacy, and do you feel it’s secure?
• Do you desire comprehensive reporting on pharmacy operations to make informed choices?
• Is your pharmacy planning to expand or diversify services in the future?
• Will the current system accommodate the growing needs of your pharmacy?
• Are you facing challenges in integrating with other healthcare systems or services?

Manage Your Pharmacy The Right Way

To manage your pharmacy in the most efficient way, you need a strong solution for operational efficiency. What a lot of pharmacists don’t know is that you will also need a solution to help with your electronic health records, medical billing, appointment scheduling and advanced reporting, among other things.

With that in mind, the best pharmacy billing and automated pharmacy system software is DocStation, which gives you features such as auto billing, patient communication and revenue cycle management in an easy-to-use platform that can be up and running in no time.

Request a demo today to find out how DocStation can help you manage your pharmacy the right way.